The power of PC modding is a magical thing. Through modern technologies and know-how, crafty creators are able add, change, remove, and fix things in their favorite games, and through the power of the internet share their creations with fellow fans around the world.
While PC mods are most often used for simple things like new costumes for characters or adding new characters altogether, they can also reach a much grander scope and scale. Popular fighting game streamer and content creator Maximilian has been spearheading a mod for Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite that reimagines the game’s visuals, among other things, and he recently spoke to Polygon about the project revealing some very interesting details about the mod that is officially titled Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite & Beyond.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite & Beyond got its humble beginnings as a simple tech demo and experiment from modder Ryn a.k.a. Wistful Hopes. “I saw a friend talk about how [Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite] was wasted potential, and thought it’d be cool to make a tech demo mod for it,” she told Polygon. “Seeing it gain the attention it did is, quite honestly, astounding to me.”
Ryn’s initial mod added a cel-shaded graphics look to the visuals of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, and it looked so good that it ultimately caught the eye of one Maximillian Christiansen better known as Maximilian Dood.
From there, Max enlisted Ryn to begin working on the Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite & Beyond project, which has since grown to amass a team of over 20 people contributing. But work at this level on a project with so many moving parts does not come cheap.
Previously during one of the recent MvCI&B live stream presentations to show off the latest build, Max mentioned that he has spent five figures of his own money to fund the project. When speaking to Polygon, however, Max provided an actual ballpark number that might surprise you.
According to Maximilian, he estimates that he has spent nearly $30,000 USD funding the development of the Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite & Beyond mod. However, it is extremely important to also note that this mod is not being made as a product to sell and make profit, but rather as a free mod that can be shared with like-minded fans of the Marvel vs. Capcom series that ultimately ends up being “just something that I personally want to exist,” Max says.
“Nobody played [Infinite] because of visuals and roster stuff,” Christiansen told Polygon. “If the one thing that I can do within my power and budgetary scope is to fix the visuals, something that actually makes it look better, [something that] will get people to even play it, that’s the goal — for you to go to Steam and buy Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, [download] our mod, and change the game.”
Due to the large scale of MvCI&B, many that have been following its development have likely been wondering the same thing: Is Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite & Beyond at risk of being shut down by Marvel and/or Capcom?
Max addressed this concern back in September and noted that though the rights holders can literally shut down nearly anything anyone does with their products if they so choose to, he does not think the mod will be such a target.
He notes that one of the main reasons why rights holders issue cease and desists to people making new things out of existing products is because they step on the toes of sales for current titles these companies might already have on the market.
In the case of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite & Beyond, there is no big modern Marvel vs. Capcom game that Capcom is pushing right now that the mod would be competing with — the closest thing being the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, though this is only a compilation of old games and wouldn’t have its toes stepped on in any real way.
On the flipside, Max also explains that this mod only aims to drive more sales Capcom’s way as he encourages fans to purchase the actual Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite game so that they can try the upcoming mod.
Speaking of which, Max told Polygon that he estimates Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite & Beyond will have a 1.0 release “in the coming months.”
There’s more to learn about MvCI&B in Polygon’s interview with Max and Ryn, so be sure to read through the full article.